On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor - Six Hundred And Seventy-Five

As we waited for the poor unfortunates who were kidnapped by the Americans and experimented on, I smiled a touch apologetically at Ileana. “I’m sorry for Shaeula. She probably shouldn’t have fed you my blood, but when I saw how you reacted…” I tapped under my Eyes with one finger. “…I thought I should probably give you a little more, so that you became acclimatised to it, and didn’t suffer withdrawals. It seems… that while you don’t need it to survive, and your body has largely normal functions… without it, you’re definitely starving, at least spiritually. And I worry my blood might be rather like a drug to you. I’ve… stacked a few boosts to it.” That was rather shameful to say, but it was the truth. Not just my blood too…

“I do not-not think it was uncalled for.” Shaeula was a little defensive. “We all-all know it was what she craved. You know it too, Akio.”

“Yes, but…” I couldn’t help but remember how she’d reacted when she’d seen me spill my blood before, and the constant, almost unconscious glances at my neck she was shooting me when she wasn’t paying attention had reinforced that. To say nothing of her extreme reaction to even a little of my fresh blood. It’s like a cat smelling catnip.  “…there was still no need for force it on her.”

She wanted it though. Desperately wanted to taste it. Haru’s thoughts sounded, and I felt she was also rather guarded. Perhaps Shaeula handled it clumsily, but she did it with good intentions. For both you and Ileana.

I know, I’m not angry, just… wanting to be fair to Ileana. After all, if she’s going to be under our care…

Eri spoke up. “Why not ask her then? If you don’t mind, were you bothered by Shaeula’s actions?” At the question, Valeska frowned, quite displeased, but Ileana, her face a healthier shade, considered it seriously, tilting her head in a fashion I found rather cute.

“It… surprised me.” She licked her damp lips instinctively. “But she does not lie.” She nodded at Shaeula. “I wanted it so desperately.” Ileana’s skin flushed from shame. “Yet I know. My parents, my siblings, my tutors… all told me I can never reveal my thirst to others, else it will stir up fear, revulsion… and hatred.”

“Yes, many of us don’t like or fear those different to us.” Eri agreed, before transforming herself into a fairly decent representation of Ileana, though white cat ears and tail spoiled the effect somewhat. “But… this group has gone far beyond such foolish prejudices. All we care about is whether you are the sort of woman we can get along with. So you’re a Vampire, or a Dhampir, or whatever. Akio’s not even human anymore, Shaeula here never was, I’m… as you can see now, like Akio, half and half, I suppose.” As Eri talked, Shaeula was nodding along cheerfully. “…Haru’s gone beyond, sorry, I don’t know a nice way to put it…” Eri apologised, and Haru sighed softly, glancing at Bianca.

“Just say it as it is. I’m dead. But like I told Bianca, Ileana, being dead doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy life. I would say being a Vampire is the same. So long as you don’t attack people indiscriminately for their blood, and don’t turn anyone you bite into Vampires…”

“I am not this… Vampire. Not a Strigoi.” Ileana pouted. “And we do not turn those we drink from into our kind. If we did so… do you understand arithmetic? It is a progression. No, if we did bite one, and we become two, it would be insanity. Then two bite two and there is four, four bite four and then there are eight…”

We were all smiling warmly at Ileana as she explained, and that confused her. She trailed off, and Haru spoke gently, even as Valeska consoled her by patting her shoulder.

“Yes, a geometric progression. After just thirty-three days of meals, assuming you each needed to drink blood every day, every single person on Earth would be like you. Then you’d all go thirsty and starve.”

“Sorry.” Hinata giggled. “But we’re all taught such basic mathematics at school from a young age. But I suppose you’d certainly be considered well-learned during the time before you were buried.”

“I… see.” Ileana frowned for a moment. “No, if we wish to create a blood child, we take a droplet of blood from our heart and feed it to the child we chose. It is tiring, and leaves us weak and thirsting, yet…” She fell silent, realising she was just sounding like she wanted more of my blood. With a sigh, I offered her my wrist. She stared at it, unsure, and I smiled warmly, even though Tsurugi was puffing out her cheeks with jealousy.

“I’m not forcing you or even enticing you.” I rolled my eyes at Shaeula, who giggled sheepishly, though unrepentantly. Even Haru seemed a bit apologetic, but her thoughts came through to me clearly.

What can I say? I’m feeling in quite a good mood, despite this being a shitty day. I just wanted to give our cute little refugee a little push towards her own desires.

“No, it’s just that my Eyes could see your body strengthening, even from the little of my blood you’ve tasted. If you want, I can offer a bit more. Fresh from the vein, as it were.” I wasn’t concerned about her transforming me, I was confident Ether Healing and my Faeduine nature would fend that off. “I’d very much like to study this blood child transformation another time, but… I don’t want to force you into making one recklessly since it seems to be an important act with great significance to you. I’d appreciate being able to study you though, Valeska. Nothing invasive, just by using my Eyes.”

“Eyes that can see through solid objects, yes.” she snorted sourly. “If I wasn’t an old granny, I’d suspect you had ulterior motives. You’d better not be peering at my little light with those lewd eyes of yours, young man! As for… as for feeding her blood right now, I understand.” Her words were measured but firm, and I couldn’t help but smile at the love she showed for her adopted granddaughter, which I very much doubted was down to her being this blood child. My Eyes picked up connections, certainly, but none of them were compelling obedience or emotional change. In fact, there are some bonds which seem a little reminiscent of Lovers’ Link, or more precisely, Brother’s Bond…

“But what if you decide she needs something else, something more shameful? My little light is a young woman of virtue and good breeding. I wouldn’t have you sully that!” Valeska insisted, and I understood where she was coming from. Shaeula was undeterred by her ire, however.

“Do you fear-fear I would push her into giving Akio her chastity? She would be wise-wise to do so…” Valeska’s gaze hardened and Ileana, still eyeing my wrist, hesitant, froze, and I could hear her heart beating rapidly… for her, anyway. “…I am not-not going to push her into Akio’s arms. To do so would simply be unwise. Love must grow naturally, so it endures for all-all eternity.”

“She’s learning, at last.” Eri, still in Ileana’s form, confided to Valeska. “Before, she was a nuisance, always trying to persuade every half-decent woman to join us. But in all seriousness…” Eri’s expression was sympathetic as she turned away. “…in your case, Ileana, I think you’ll find Akio very much to your… taste. Just as we have humans, half-humans, spiritual beings, ghosts, Tsukumogami…” Eri smiled at Tsurugi, who waved back brightly. “…we have the rich, those of us raised ordinary, and those from all walks of life. We won’t disdain you for who you are or what you need. If you honestly think you want Akio’s blood… take a few sips. We won’t judge you for it. That you have our word on. You and your grandmother are all alone in the world, you say? That’s wrong. Now you’ve got us, got Akio. So just be yourself. No masks. Honesty is the best way to make friends and sisters.”

Valeska pursed her lips at that, unable to argue further, and Ileana teared up, a fresh shimmer in her multichromatic eyes, before she nodded, her lips brushing my bare wrist. I shivered at the sensation, and what she was about to do. It’s still a little intimidating, actually, but…

“I… shall take you at your word then, Eri.” Ileana breathed, before she gently sank her fangs into my wrist. She was confused for a moment, as she was unable to pierce my flesh, before I consciously relaxed, and moments later I felt a tiny sting.

“Hah…” Ileana released a sigh which sounded rather… lusty…  and her throat began to swell as she gulped softly. I could feel fluid being sucked out of me, a trickle at first, but the rate soon picked up, Ileana’s eyes now a bright crimson, flecked with shimmering rainbows of colours. As she continued to drink deep, I felt a little helpless, only for Valeska to come over and tap her forehead repeatedly, until she regained her senses. Flushing as deeply red as her eyes, which were slowly returning to their metallic, ever-shifting hues, she pulled free, a faint droplet of blood on her lips which she licked off. Slapping her own cheeks, she apologised.

“I… forgot myself there. But…” she groaned. “…the taste, far finer than any wine. It filled my insides, spread through me…” she touched her belly idly. “I felt… invigorated.” She seemed it, too. The change was slight, physically, but her cheeks were less hollow, and her frame had slightly filled out. Her Chakra network was also far more active, and all of her major Chakras were cycling, trace amounts of elemental energies of many flavours being absorbed.

“A quick-quick test.” Shaeula slashed her own wrist, and blood bloomed. “Do you want any? You still seem… thirsty.” She brandished her arm, and Ileana reflexively sniffed, only for her expression to switch to a rather rueful one.

“I… thank you for the offer, but…” she glanced back at me, and Shaeula snorted, having received her answer.

“It seems you only wish for the vintage of Akio. I did not-not expect anything else. Now, we are not-not forcing you or tricking you, just… be grateful we offered you the finest-finest blood you shall ever taste.”

“It… feels very tingly.” Ileana agreed. “And also tastes simply divine. I am grateful. And… you do not recoil from me.”

“It’s like we told you. You’re not so strange, compared to some of the beings we’ve met.” Eri insisted. “So, have we allayed your fears, Valeska?”

“Hardly.” The old woman grumbled. Her own long canines were showing, but she stubbornly refused to look at the blood Shaeula was washing from her wrist. “If anything, I worry more. But I shall be watching. My little light is naïve and not used to this modern world, so… I won’t let you trick her!”

“Perish the thought.” I promised, feeling slightly languid after being drained of blood. The two girls from Adamant, Kanami-san and Yuuna-san, who had remained silent and unobtrusive, as if they wished to fade into the background, finally spoke up.

“It’s… never dull here, is it?” Yuuna-san shrugged, and Kanami-san chuckled.

“No. But… seeing them be so nice to her, fills me with hope. Hope that…” she trailed off, still hurting at her parents’ betrayal. Hinata gently consoled them, and as she was promising that we’d be her family now, the door opened, and our final guests arrived. Though I detected them waiting outside for several minutes while we had our little Dhampir counselling session in here… probably for the best.

There were six of them, one of the seven returned having recovered mentally enough to want to keep his ability, though he had no aspirations of being Astral Emperor, only that giving it up felt like a defeat to him. The youngest was a young man of nineteen, and the oldest, a woman of forty. They’d come from all sorts of backgrounds but had been indiscreet on social media or the phone enough to come to the attention of the US and their snatch squads.

Britain’s got five. I know they are doing the same negotiations, likely when I’m there, I’ll have to remove and transplant the Favours. Ideally, we’ll find one for Mary-Jane, but if not, we still have to strengthen Britain. Yes, it’ll cost me adherence, but it’s a small price to pay for our alliance.

Seeing the Chosen, all of whom brightened on seeing Haru smiling gently at them, as she’d been instrumental in their recovery, react in different ways, I felt anger at Adam White and Christina once again, but… in a very charitable light, which in no way offers any sort of mitigation or forgiveness, but I feel compelled to offer… none of these six would be cut out for a life as a Chosen. Most of them would have died in the Church attacks, if not before. That doesn’t excuse the torture, but it’s a small mercy nonetheless.

Seeing some of them, one young man in his early twenties, react to Shaeula with the intensity of a fanboy meeting an idol, amused me too, and one woman, probably in her late twenties, was blinking in surprise at the two copies of Ileana, Eri not having changed back yet. We also had Tsurugi, two Adamant girls, the ninja sisters, Hinata… it was quite the collection of people.

“All right then.” Hinata took charge after Morita-san nodded. “I’ve prepared the contracts, which also detail official government compensation. None of you will have to worry about money for the rest of your lives, unless you are abysmally reckless.”

“I don’t think you need to worry, Takatsukasa-sama…” the oldest Chosen, the woman, insisted. “We all just want a quiet life. A quiet, happy life. Where we can just be thankful for what we have.” Nods from those around her, and Hinata agreed.

“I like realists. Anyway, the compensatory amount is five hundred million yen each. The fees for your Favour come to a further one billion yen.” We weren’t stinting them. Hinata hated overpaying, but six billion yen, or around sixty million US dollars, while a vast sum of money, was a worthy investment. Can’t put a price on power, and a couple of the Favours can potentially synergise nicely with some of our other goals…

“In addition…” she continued. “…you and your family will receive comprehensive healthcare benefits, as discussed, and Akio here will perform the Chirurgery on them, to give them all the advantages an ordinary person can have. In addition, should war break out in Japan, you and your families will be priorities for shelter.”

They all murmured their agreement, and I could sense their families waiting. Looks like I’ll be busy today.

“Well, no point standing on ceremony.” I’d identified their Favours before, using my Eyes, and so Hinata had the list, and she cleared her throat, before beginning. “Akao-san…” the oldest woman nodded. “…Benzaiten’s Song Of Learning.”

This is one of the two that meant we were more than prepared to offer them all ludicrous sums of money. Though finding a suitable candidate to use it is troublesome…

“Demizu-san.” Next, a man in his thirties nodded. “Bhaiṣajyaguru’s Lapis Lazuli Radiance.”

“Furuta-san…” Now the youngest man raised his hand. “Shinatsuhiko’s Windy Pillar.”

“Maezuka-san.” A woman in her late twenties smiled weakly. “Bà Kim’s Heart Forge.” This was the second one we really wanted and will hopefully help us make back our money and more.

“Morooka-san…” A man in his early twenties, hair dyed a messy red, raised a hand. “…Raijin’s Stormy Lash.”

“…and lastly…” Hinata finished, speaking to the final Chosen, a man in his mid-thirties. “Tamada-san. With Averruncus’ Diverting Ward. Very well then. We’ll proceed to the entirely safe extraction, and by tonight you’ll be living in luxury, letting us do all the hard work for you.” She grinned at them, before turning to me. “Akio, if you’d do the honours?”

With a rueful smile of my own, I nodded. “Sure thing. Don’t worry, I’m rather experienced at this now, I’ll be done before you know it.” Behind me, Haru let a glow of light leak from her, the radiance illuminating the six people, and they seemed to relax, entirely from conditioned reflex. All right then. Let’s get this done…

***

Kanzaki Keiko, The Pilgrimage, Torikai Hachimangu Shrine, Fukuoka.

“We’re nearly done then, Keiko.” Asuka remarked, as they placed their offerings down at the designated spot in the grounds of the shrine, an extremely beautiful one, more than eighteen hundred years old, though like almost all the shrines they’d visited on this long Pilgrimage, it had been repaired and retooled a number of times during its long history, but the family running the shrine had remained the same.

“That’s right.” Ema, the youngest of the trio of idols, agreed brightly, before suddenly pouting. “You know, I’ll almost be sad to stop. It’s been a lot of fun, hasn’t it?”

“You know…” Keiko repeated, teasing Ema by imitating her youthful exuberance. “…I think it has been. We’ve met a lot of interesting people, and plenty of beings who aren’t people.” Kami and other spiritual beings. Everything’s so strange, but… yes, it is fun and exciting. And who would have thought that being an idol might be able to change the world?

“But after tomorrow…” she continued. “…it’s time to get back to rehearsing. After all, we’ve got a televised performance as Pleiades coming up soon. In the Boundary… no, it’s the lower Astral now, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It is.” Asuka agreed, rebore grabbing Ema and playfully rubbing at her hair while she squirmed. “Working with a European band, especially in that genre, it’s going to be strange. But the goal is good, isn’t it?”

Ema escaped Asuka’s grip, patting her hair back into shape. She unhooked the Adamant cap from her belt and put it on, to prevent any more messing with her hair, before smiling cheerfully. “Yes, the Kobolds are cute. But I understand why they’d want to be… uh, is calling them human again right?” She tilted her head, curious.

“No, but we know what you meant.” Keiko smiled warmly, enjoying the camaraderie. Though that also worried her a little. I’m sure it’s nothing. But… unwilling to dampen Ema’s boundless enthusiasm, Keiko offered her thoughts. “The High Kobold just wants them to go back to how they were. And we can influence that. The power of belief, of aether, of adherence! Now not only can we make our fans’ days brighter, bring a little hope into their lives, we can actually make a real difference with our songs and dancing. I, for one, am utterly thrilled.” And I can repay Akio-kun for saving us from Sora-kun. Not just saving us, but giving us, giving idols as a whole, new purpose. But then, why…

“Are you worried? I can tell.” Asuka was hard to fool. “I don’t get it either. But… I’m sure it’s nothing serious.”

 “That’s right!” Ema agreed, her smile bright. “I’m sure Ayako-chan is fine. It… is… a bit odd she was pulled away by Shaeula and Arisu-chan…” Keiko really respected their youngest member for her bravery in copying her and calling Arisu-chan by such a cutesy honorific, but then, Ema always did have that youthful bravery.

Arisu-chan comes across as very cold and angry, but she’s a terribly intelligent, witty woman beneath the surface. Her ex-fiancé is a fool, casting her aside. But it’ll take a special man to handle her. Any ordinary man would just feel inferior and start hating her. Hey, I wonder if that’s what happened to Ryusei? I’ll not give him an honorific, he doesn’t deserve it, the trash…

“…you don’t think…” Ema’s cute face screwed up in embarrassment, before she shook her head. “No way, if Akio-kun was calling idols in for an affair, it’d be you, Keiko, not anyone else! Ayako-chan’s… not the most memorable. Oh, I shouldn’t have said that …” Ema was babbling, and clearly felt sorry for Ayako-chan. It was true everyone knew she had been thinking of graduating before this, but as one of the first members of AKB, she was still beloved by her kouhais, even if not to the same levels as Juu-chan or Rumi-Rumi.

“…I know we’re idols and can’t date, but… we’re also Adamant idols, the Pleiades, and you did say Akio-kun was your dream man, so…” her face was red. “I’m… so confused!”

My face is red too. I can feel it. Fanning herself, skin hot to the touch, Keiko smiled ruefully, even as Asuka bopped Ema gently on the forehead. “I don’t think you need to worry. I just can’t see Akio-kun hauling off girls to have his way with them, and while Shaeula might be a part of such a scheme, I can’t see Arisu-chan doing that. She’s very strict on behaving honourably.”

“But…” Asuka was suddenly quiet, and as Keiko and Ema observed her, she plucked at the collars of her Adamant-themed idol outfit. “…we agreed it could happen. So is it dishonourable? I don’t think so. Strange, yes, but… everyone wants to change the negative side of being an idol, while still brightening the days of the fans. This time, by giving them hope that no matter how the world changes, we’ll be there to keep singing, and if need be… to fight. Maybe… maybe it’s easier to start with someone like Ayako-san, to see how it goes with… forgive me for being a little mean, someone with less to lose?”

“We were thinking that too…” While they were lost in conversation, two fellow Adamant members, though not idols, but the young, rich daughters from the rumoured Hanafubuki Private Academy, approached them. The speaker was Ishizaka Wakana-chan, a tall girl with a beautiful, heart-shaped face, who looked really good in the military-style Adamant uniform, the silver and black always elegant. Though… some of the silver is starting to be phased out for… what was it… Hihi’irokane? A Brilliant metallic reddish-gold. That’s… a great colour with black too, I admit it.

“Kanami-chan was picked up too, and apparently they were fetching her parents. She… seemed very excited.” Ishizaka-chan continued. While beside her, the rather more excitable Watari Megumi-chan, was scowling with jealousy. With her bookish demeanour, thick glasses and black braids, she was every inch the elegant, literary girl. At least until she opened her mouth. Then, the illusion shattered, if she was talking about her favourite subject…

“I’d be excited too!” Watari-chan pouted. “If it’s an omiai like she thinks, then… oh, if only it would have been me! My first time, Motoko-sama and Natsumi-sama holding my hands and stroking my hair, then afterwards, a kiss to console me, tender at first, but quickly becoming more passionate…”

“I apologise for her…” Ishizaka-chan was rather exasperated. “She’s just… a little more invested than we probably are. For the wrong reasons though. She might call it dedication, but I doubt Akio-sama would want a woman who is only trying to seduce some of his fiancées, even if she’s more than prepared to put her body and heart in his hands for that chance.”

“You’d be surprised.” Asuka sighed. “You should see the fantasies that guys have about us. Watching us touch and kiss each other, go further… of course, then they join in.”

“I don’t think Akio-kun is like that.” Keiko shook her head. “More to the point, I don’t think Motoko-chan and Natsumi-chan are… from what I can see, they’re both deliriously in love with Akio-kun.”

“Give me a chance, that’s all I need!” Watari-chan giggled. “I’m not greedy. One night on the bed with Motoko-sama and Natsumi-sama, and Akio-sama can have my body forever!”

“I think we’re getting distracted.” Ishizaka-chan sighed. “My point is, I don’t think it’s a marriage meeting. Why would it be, out of the blue? A pair of shrine maidens were taken away too, as well as a priest, and Kinoshita-san, from the Three-Hundred. Why would they need them? Hinata’s brother, Hiroto-sama, he was called on too. He didn’t seem concerned though…”

“Yes, we were thinking too.” Keiko agreed. It would soon be time to board the buses to the next shrine here in Fukuoka, the city had a wealth of true shrines and would hopefully push everyone remaining to Level twenty in the Kami-Blessed Class. How easily I say that now. That’s probably the greatest shock off all.

“Look, I don’t claim to know Akio-kun all that deeply…” Keiko took a deep breath. “…but I do know this. If he genuinely was interested in a woman from Adamant, he’d approach it differently. You’ve… seen them, haven’t you?”

Ishizaka-chan nodded. “Yes, Fujiwara-sama and her bodyguard Michiru have changed. They… seem like they have ascended the steps to adulthood. Though I wouldn’t dream of asking a daughter of Fujiwara house…”

“I did!” Watari-chan insisted, surprising everyone. At their stares, she shrugged. “I know it’s hard, but… she’s a Marquise, same as us. That means it doesn’t matter what her standing is outside of Adamant, as a fellow Officer, we can talk freely.”

“That’s… rather forward thinking of you.” Ishizaki-chan frowned. “I hope you didn’t offend her.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. Miyu-sama is easier to get along with than you’d have thought.” Watari-chan insisted. “Anyway, she told me that she and Michiru have entered into an agreement to pursue Akio-sama, with the intent to date and then move on to engagement. It’s a wonderful love story, just like Motoko-sama and Natsumi-sama. Master and bodyguard both loving the same man, loving each other…” Her breathing was coming fast now, face pink, and her laugh was oddly off-putting, but also actually cute.

“You know, I think Watari-chan might make a good idol…” Ema suggested without any tact, and Asuka snorted a laugh, agreeing.

“Yeah, maybe so. But… what does Akio-kun think?”

“Hah… imagining it, Miyu-sama holding Michiru as Akio-sama slams into her, forcing himself into her, and as Michiru flushes in shame and pleasure, she offers her lips and tongue, for Miyu-sama’s tender kiss… oh, sorry… got distracted…” Watari-chan wiped drool away from her pert lips. “What… oh, Akio-sama?”

This girl is a menace. Totally a lesbian. Or… maybe bisexual, since she doesn’t seem to mind the thought of Akio-kun much. Even so, I certainly wouldn’t want to be alone with her… It was uncharitable, as if you ignored her proclivities, Watari-chan was a pleasant, hardworking, loyal girl, and she’d put her life on the line to fight. It was just… yes, still tough to overlook, honestly… I’m sorry, Watari-chan. Apologising in her heart, Keiko listened to her explanation.

“From what she says, he’s going to treat her seriously, but take it slow. It’s not a done deal, but he’d have to be insane to turn down Miyu-sama, wouldn’t he? Rumour is, with Honoka-sama’s father out of favour, Miyu-sama is now the heir to Fujiwara house. With High Commander Hinata-sama already engaged to him… the nobility is his! Hey, what about Mayumi-sama? Think he’ll go for the clean sweep? Oh, I can image it now, the four of them, tangled together, sheets covered in sweat and more, closer than sisters…”

As her laughter echoed, Ishizaki-chan bowed deeply. “Sorry, I apologise again for her behaviour. She’s not a bad girl, just… yes.” She shook her head. “If so… it’s even more likely that it’s nothing to do with romance. If so… I really hope that there’s no trouble. Kanami-chan wouldn’t betray us, betray Adamant. So it can’t be, but…”

“Yes.” Keiko frowned. “I don’t think Ayako-chan would betray us either, although…” She was feeling down recently. Thinking she was too old and with dwindling popularity. I… hope she didn’t try anything foolish, to rekindle her appeal…

“If so, we just have to speak to High Commander Hinata-chan, don’t we?” Ema tilted her head. “If Ayako-chan or Hazuki-chan have made mistakes, we can help them fix it, can’t we? If we all work together…”

“You’re such a sweet, innocent little baby!” Asuka pulled her into am embrace, and Ema squirmed, pressed against her chest, tapping her shoulder frantically, while Watari-chan snapped out of her delusions and was gazing on with pink fervour.

“Don’t suffocate me, Asuka!” Ema pouted, when she was free at last. “Your chest is too big! When will mine get that large?”

“I think you’re mostly out of luck. I doubt you’ll see a growth spurt now.” Keiko couldn’t help but chuckle, even if worry was clouding her features. “All right.” She took a deep breath. “There’s no point moping about it. Let’s finish the Pilgrimage as planned, do our duty, then… we can ask around. Watari-chan is right, we’re all Adamant. There’s no need to be overawed by distinctions of rank or wealth. We’re all sisters. We could ask Commander Shiro, she’s easy to talk to…”

“So long as Tan doesn’t pop out…” Ema grumbled. “…I think she enjoys jump-scaring me. Red Shiro is frightening sometimes!”

“Red Shiro? That makes no sense…” Asuka chortled, and the tension around them all lifted as Ema continued to play the fool. I hope you really haven’t done anything foolish, Ayako-chan. Every member of AKB is like family. Sure, we have our rivalries, we all want to be the centre, sing on the new singles, have legions of adoring fans, but… we have to change. Right now, the only fan that matters…

Resolved, Keiko clapped her hands. “All right then. Board the bus! We’ll see if we can find out what’s going on. It’s probably not just us who have noticed. Those from the shrines and temples must be nervous too. Honestly, I believe in Ayako-chan, and Hazuki-chan too! So… let’s stay positive, okay? Maybe it’s nothing after all. Though I’m sure it’s not that Akio-kun’s been scouting concubines, understand?”

“Yes, because if he was, he’d come straight to you, Keiko… or actually, maybe Rumi-Rumi… hey, if I was a guy, I’d go straight for her…” Asuka teased, and the atmosphere shifted. Good job Asuka, good job. You’ve always been great at setting the mood. It’s a skill all the best idols need. Now then…

Playing along with the teasing, Keiko adopting a hurt expression, the five of them headed for the buses, which were almost full, searching for Commander Shiro, or failing that, one of Akio-kun’s other fiancées who were approachable…

***

Bethany Wright, The Pilgrimage, Atago Shrine, Fukuoka

“I thought that Mount Atago was in Kyoto, Beth.” her brother Zack saying to her, but she was barely listening, instead, staring at her phone as if it had transformed into some incomprehensible monster. “Guess they have one here too. It’s a nice shrine, I suppose. Don’t have much like it back home. Hey, you listening? Earth to Beth! Come in!”

“Oh, shut up, Zack.” Bethany grimaced. No matter how many times she read the messages from her dad, they weren’t going to change. Slipping her phone back into her purse, she addressed her younger brother. “This is serious. Dad… dad’s telling us to stay in Japan and not come back for a while.”

“Oh? Why?” Zack asked, curious. All around them, other Pilgrims were bustling around, making offerings. At first, Bethany had thought it all rather foolish, but after feeling the changes in herself, as well as her performances in the nightly… hard to call it training at night when it lasts for days, though I guess it is night here on Earth… sessions, she’d come to realise the value of it, the generous gift she’d been given, her and Zack.

“And you’ve got college, Beth. Your grades are okay, but if you miss too many days they’ll flunk you out.”

“I know. But dad reckons he call pull some strings and says education isn’t as important as the training here. It doesn’t make sense. Yes, he let us come to Japan, but he wasn’t very keen on us getting involved. Worse, worse…” Words failed her, a hint of betrayal on her face, and Zack was sympathetic.

“Is it bad? You can tell me, Beth.” her brother insisted, before complaining. “Dad could talk to me too. You might be the responsible one in his eyes, but I’m not an idiot.”

“Dad may disagree after I got injured.” Beth grumbled. “But that’s all in the past.” Honestly, it was such a relief to be healed, and she’d even supposedly picked up a couple of Ranks of Ether Healing. The training was just awful, but her skin was stunning now, and… even if I overeat, I can burn off excess weight easily enough. It won’t fix the sort of injuries I had before, not at this Rank, apparently, but… with practise. No… I don’t want to train it any further, I’m not a masochist, I’m not into pain. Dad seems to think I am though. Why now, after warning us to stay far away from her?

“He just says America isn’t safe at the moment. But… that won’t do. We’re due to fly back alongside those military guys, aren’t we? I think… I think we need to talk to dad face to face. Before that…” Beth sighed loudly. “…he’s asked me to do him a favour.”

“Oh? We don’t want to do anything that’ll get us into trouble. They’re good people here, Beth.” Zack warned, and Beth growled at him.

“I know. I’m not an ungrateful bitch, and I wouldn’t do that, not even for dad. We’re not in the FBI, are we? No…” She rolled her eyes. “All he’s asked is… oh, fuck me…” Bethany swore. “…I’ve been asked to teach Christina Bakker how to dress, how to act to be more charming to men… no, a certain man, obviously… and how not to be creepy in general. Basically, help her win Akio over. A joke, right? You’re a guy, you get it, don’t you Zack?”

She could see her target in the distance. She was being pushed by a young woman in shrine maiden hakama, and the three sisters, Katsuki, Mizuki, and Kiaria, were following along, chatting, also dressed in the red and white traditional clothing. It was a pretty spectacle, quite unlike anything they had in America, but Beth was used to it now.

“Yeah, well, talking about it with you makes me feel awful, Beth, but… if I didn’t know her and met her in a club, sure, I’d make a play for her. She’s objectively very pretty, with huge… well, you know.” He chuckled ruefully, and Bethany did indeed know, glancing down at her own more modest assets, wrapped in a fairly punk black and purple ripped t-shirt, silver chains completing the fashionable look. All men are pigs when it comes to this. But as a woman… I agree. Christina Bakker’s working from a high base. It’s hard not to be jealous. Beauty and brains. Of course, with her personality, both are wasted…

“But if I actually knew her… no way. I know plenty of guys say they’d give up ten years of their life to sleep with a beautiful woman, but with her… it might not be a joke.” Zack finished, and Bethany secretly agreed.

“Still…” he pondered. “…there’s one advantage you’ve got, if you go for it, Beth.”

“And what’s that?” she was curious.

“You know both sides of the equation, and we’ve got quite friendly with a lot of the folks here.” he suggested. “Forget about trying to make Christina a normal woman, that’s a fool’s errand, don’t you think?” As Bethany nodded, he continued. “Instead, just make it so that she’s the sort of woman Akio can accept, no matter how reluctantly. He’s a good guy, once he’s slept with her, he won’t abandon her. Just got to make her charming enough once. Just have her play to his preferences and her own strengths.”

“That’s… a good point. I’m impressed, little bro.” Bethany nodded. “Yes. Yeah. That could totally work. I guess dad’s desperate if he’s asking me to do this for him. He owes me big-time for this!”

Mind made up, she marched over, where Christina was listening lazily to the four girls and their chatter.

“No wonder he turned you down, Hotaru-chan…” the middle sister, Mizuki, was saying, a cheeky expression of satisfaction on her face. “…blackmail’s a crime you know? Shaeula would have killed you…”

“Shit, when did you get so cheeky?” the foul-mouthed girl pushing Christina was saying. Bethany had rapidly picked up a lot of Japanese on this trip, but she also had a new translation device. It made her head twinge a little, but it beat not being able to understand. “Akio-kun would have protected me. One fucking taste of my body and he’d have been hooked. But shit, instead it was Michiru-chan who got a taste. A creamy, milky fucking taste, if you catch my drift?”

“Please keep your language clean, not in front of Kiaria, please.” the older, elegant Katsuki chided, and Hotaru flushed.

“Fuck. Sorry. Just pisses me off. But… he kept his word and didn’t tell my shitty dad. So guess he must have liked me, at least a little. Fuck… swap bodies with me, Mizuki-chan! There must be a way. If I had your criminal fucking appearance, no way he’d have turned down that forbidden fruit. Shit, that’s a crime worth going to fucking prison for!”

As Mizuki protested, crossing her arms over her frankly absurd chest, Bethany shook her head. Strolling up, Zack in tow, she smiled ingratiatingly. “Hi there.” Even without the translation assistance, she could manage that in Japanese, though she put up with the discomfort for her task. Most of the Pilgrims spoke fairly decent English, but if she was trying to help Christina in this, going with Japanese was best, it showed more effort and respect.

“Oh, hello. Looking fuckin sharp.” Hotaru returned her greeting with a lazy wave. “Got to love your wardrobe choices. Sometimes I wish I lived in America… anyway, what brings you here?”

“Actually…” she hesitated, before diving right in. “I was thinking… Christina, can I ask you a question?”

The very pale woman, her eyes still struggling to focus, even after their regeneration, turned her head jerkily, but still managed a teasing, insouciant grin. “By all means, Beth. It’s not… like you to… approach me. I had thought you disliked me. I was… rather hurt.” Her words were slow, and interrupted by gasps, but she still looked better than she had earlier. I guess the madwoman is healing after all… much as I loathe her, she’s… insanely dedicated, and as cruel to herself as she is to others, it seems. Though the difference is she had a choice, I’m not forgiving her!

“I hardly like you.” Bethany snapped unconsciously, but as Zack nudged her back, she reined in her disgust. “But let’s forget about that.” She managed a light chuckle. “So, Christina… just why are you interested in Akio? I mean, surely someone else, one of the Mortal Engineers, maybe, might have more in common with you? Don’t you think it might be wise to… give up? He’s not into you.” I don’t know why I’m trying to dissuade her, that’s not what dad wants, although… some of his messages were odd. he was asking a few too many personal questions, prying a bit…

“Yes, it seems… he’s not. But I have my fellow comrade… here.” At her halting words, Hotaru cursed under her breath. “As for… Ixitt and the others, I very… much enjoy their… company. But… love’s about more… than that, young Beth. More…”

“I think what you feel isn’t love, but infatuation.” Bethany shook her head, somehow actually feeling a little bad for the monster in human skin. “You weren’t… experienced. And he can certainly turn heads…”

“Oh, probably…” Christina admitted, which surprised everyone, even the youngest girl here, Kiaria, staring at her open-mouthed. Seeing that, Christina wheezed a laugh.

“I never thought… it mattered much, what people thought of me. But this stings… a little. But yes, I am certainly… infatuated. And what is wrong… with that?” Gritting her teeth, clearly still in pain, enough that Bethany felt slightly sorry for her…  just slightly… she forced out words. “As for Akio not sharing my… interests… oh, how wrong you are. He focusses… everything on… the mechanics of Levelling up, Ranking… up, and more… yes, his reasons are more… pragmatic… than mine are, but… on a deeper level, he understands me… I just… went about things wrong.”

“I… see.” Bethany blinked, thrown off by Christina’s… oddly reasonable… conjectures. Thinking about it, yeah, he’s crazy for experimentation and working out how all this works… maybe they’re not entirely incompatible as I had imagined, though… considering her past actions, she’s still screwed…

“Yes, so… infatuation or not… I wish to pursue him, but alas… it’s not easy.” Christina finished, and Hotaru agreed.

“No kidding! If a nice body and willingness to get fucked was enough, I’d be getting knocked up… shit, sorry Katsuki-chan…” Hotaru changed what she was about to say. “Just… yeah. You can’t go throwing yourself at him, it doesn’t work. Shit.”

“Alas, I am… rather inexperienced…” Christina grinned weakly. “I have been studying, but… so little time. The Donating is… more important.”

“Studying? How?” Bethany was curious, despite everything.

“Fashion choices, mostly. I want to… look more… womanly and attractive?”

“Why is that a question?” Bethany was now equal parts frustrated and exasperated. How can someone so intelligent be so stupid? “Look, you’re beautiful. So yes, get out of those shitty lab coats and jumpers, get a pair of jeans that doesn’t look like you’ve worn them until they started to rot, maybe even a skirt. You’ve got long legs and you’re not fat, except where it counts…”

As Christina tilted her head, Bethany held in a groan. “Fine. I’ll help you. But you’re paying.” Pulling out her phone she opened up a catalogue. “But looking better won’t do much, it only attracts the eye. What you should be studying are the women he’s already with. That way you’d see his preferences. As I can see it, he doesn’t necessarily like nice girls. In fact, some of them can be downright nasty at times…” I remember Aliyah crying about how Shaeula bullied her into stripping naked and hugging Akio. That was a fun listen… not. And from hushed talk, it seems that some of the others have a… complicated past and have been rather ruthless.

“…though he’s repulsed by your actual deeds. But you are trying to make amends, he can be quite forgiving. Look…” She took the wheelchair from Hotaru, noting that Christina could easily manoeuvre it herself, but perhaps she liked the company. “…If I was Akio, I’d keep you the hell away from me, but then… he’s got a broad tolerance…”

“Yes. He’s great. Have you… realised that… Beth?” Christina suddenly seemed energised, and she realised she’d made a mistake, and her dad’s odd messages were preying on her mind. No, that’s crazy. Today is just the worst…

“As if. I’m just taking pity on you, it’s painful to watch you make a fool of yourself. So listen carefully. I’m going back to America soon, but I’ve a couple of days to beat you into shape. Although…” Bethany paused.  “…you could be the nicest woman alive, and it’s going to be hard to be attractive in the state you are in. Will you be better soon?”

“Beth, how… kind you are. I knew… you’d warm up to me.” Christina smirked in what she thought was likely a playful manner, but with her slack lips and unresponsive face it just looked creepy. Yes, if she smiles at Akio like that, it’s over. Even true love can’t survive that, never mind whatever the hell she thinks she has!

“If anything, I think I hate you more…” she countered, not entirely meaning it, just frustrated. “Seriously, that smile is awful.”

“Sorry. Removing and… regrowing so many Eyes has rather… left me somewhat disconnected. But yes, I… am recovering, Beth. And it should accelerate. I may not… be perfect, but by tomorrow night… I hope to be walking unaided.”

“Great. Oh, yeah, there’s the big rededication, isn’t there, then the first shrine visit of the new year. I hate myself for saying this, but… I’ll help you prepare…”

As Christina expressed her gratitude, she once more considered the messages her father had sent. How annoying. You dodged calling me too, didn’t you? Don’t think I’m going to let that slide, dad. You didn’t exactly want us coming out here in the first place, now you don’t want us back, and task me with mentoring this insane woman? I’ll get to the bottom of this, see if I don’t!